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The Times, UK
Jan 11 2008
David Nalbandian guarantees Britain will get warm welcome in Buenos
Aires
Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent
David Nalbandian is laughing out loud, uncontrollably, which is
unusual in itself. When it comes to stereotypes, Rafael Nadal is the
indefatigable warrior, Andy Murray the shaggy-haired wunderkind and
Nalbandian the guy from Argentina who rubs people up the wrong way,
wears a look of permanent indifference and is regarded by many as the
trickiest of all to get along with. So why is he guffawing?
He has just been receiving ice-pack treatment on a back injury, which
means that he will enter the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday
without a preparation match under his belt. That is no laughing
matter, but he is in ebullient mood - he has just been asked what
kind of welcome the Great Britain team can expect on their arrival
for next month's Davis Cup World Group first-round tie in Buenos
Aires.
`Hmm, I think it will be really good,' Nalbandian says, laughing all
the while. `No, I think it will be a nice atmosphere. It will be a
very good week - beautiful weather at the end of the summer, an
excellent crowd, a beautiful city. A very good week for us, I think.'
When he learns that Britain are employing a security team the
strength of which would shame a visit by George W. Bush, Nalbandian
asks: `Why would you want to do that? There are absolutely no worries
at all on that score. We respect the British players very much. We
are not out of control when we play Davis Cup ties at home,
absolutely not.'
He reluctantly confesses that there `may be people' who are not
predisposed to a red-carpet welcome for a sporting team from Britain.
Last year, on the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict of 1982
in which 907 lives were lost in 74 days, 649 of them on the Argentine
side, the Government of Argentina renewed its claim of sovereignty.
The response was that Britain was seeking to extend its seabed
territory around the islands to prevent the exploitation of their
natural resources - the waters are abundant in fish and oil.
Argentina took exception. `So maybe it will be a little tough for you
and I cannot tell for sure how everybody will react,' Nalbandian
says. `The Davis Cup is very important for the Argentinian people. It
is something we have never won. We reached the final two years ago
and lost in Russia, so this year we think we have a good chance and
the first opponent is Britain. We are ready to win the cup this
time.'
Nalbandian will be phoning Diego Maradona in the hope that his friend
will attend the match, from February 8-10. Seeing the barrel-chested
football legend in the front row will only add to the frenzy of the
occasion. `He is still the No 1 sporting superstar of all time,'
Nalbandian says. `The people worship him.'
They love their tennis, too. Nalbandian is the Argentina No 1, so he
would need to lose at least once for Britain to have a chance of
pulling off a massive upset. If he picks up this year where he left
off in 2007, John Lloyd's team can forget that.
Nalbandian, who was 26 on New Year's Day, is the tenth-best player in
the world, thanks in no small part to his success in the final two
Masters events of last year, in Madrid and Paris, weeks that included
back-to-back victories over Roger Federer and Nadal as well as the
scalps of Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet and David Ferrer. When he
is on such a roll, he is a match for anyone. There are few better
double-handed backhands and for someone who has been accused of
carrying too much weight, he moves beautifully.
`I feel I can be better again this year,' the former world No 3 and
2002 Wimbledon finalist, says. `I want to return to the top five, the
top three. I will be pushing hard. It is not going to be easy because
there are many good players coming through, but I am 100 per cent
ready for the challenge.
`I feel I can win a grand-slam [tournament], the Davis Cup for my
country and do well at the Olympics. It is tough to compare years,
but I definitely feel very good right now.'
Jan 11 2008
David Nalbandian guarantees Britain will get warm welcome in Buenos
Aires
Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent
David Nalbandian is laughing out loud, uncontrollably, which is
unusual in itself. When it comes to stereotypes, Rafael Nadal is the
indefatigable warrior, Andy Murray the shaggy-haired wunderkind and
Nalbandian the guy from Argentina who rubs people up the wrong way,
wears a look of permanent indifference and is regarded by many as the
trickiest of all to get along with. So why is he guffawing?
He has just been receiving ice-pack treatment on a back injury, which
means that he will enter the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday
without a preparation match under his belt. That is no laughing
matter, but he is in ebullient mood - he has just been asked what
kind of welcome the Great Britain team can expect on their arrival
for next month's Davis Cup World Group first-round tie in Buenos
Aires.
`Hmm, I think it will be really good,' Nalbandian says, laughing all
the while. `No, I think it will be a nice atmosphere. It will be a
very good week - beautiful weather at the end of the summer, an
excellent crowd, a beautiful city. A very good week for us, I think.'
When he learns that Britain are employing a security team the
strength of which would shame a visit by George W. Bush, Nalbandian
asks: `Why would you want to do that? There are absolutely no worries
at all on that score. We respect the British players very much. We
are not out of control when we play Davis Cup ties at home,
absolutely not.'
He reluctantly confesses that there `may be people' who are not
predisposed to a red-carpet welcome for a sporting team from Britain.
Last year, on the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict of 1982
in which 907 lives were lost in 74 days, 649 of them on the Argentine
side, the Government of Argentina renewed its claim of sovereignty.
The response was that Britain was seeking to extend its seabed
territory around the islands to prevent the exploitation of their
natural resources - the waters are abundant in fish and oil.
Argentina took exception. `So maybe it will be a little tough for you
and I cannot tell for sure how everybody will react,' Nalbandian
says. `The Davis Cup is very important for the Argentinian people. It
is something we have never won. We reached the final two years ago
and lost in Russia, so this year we think we have a good chance and
the first opponent is Britain. We are ready to win the cup this
time.'
Nalbandian will be phoning Diego Maradona in the hope that his friend
will attend the match, from February 8-10. Seeing the barrel-chested
football legend in the front row will only add to the frenzy of the
occasion. `He is still the No 1 sporting superstar of all time,'
Nalbandian says. `The people worship him.'
They love their tennis, too. Nalbandian is the Argentina No 1, so he
would need to lose at least once for Britain to have a chance of
pulling off a massive upset. If he picks up this year where he left
off in 2007, John Lloyd's team can forget that.
Nalbandian, who was 26 on New Year's Day, is the tenth-best player in
the world, thanks in no small part to his success in the final two
Masters events of last year, in Madrid and Paris, weeks that included
back-to-back victories over Roger Federer and Nadal as well as the
scalps of Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet and David Ferrer. When he
is on such a roll, he is a match for anyone. There are few better
double-handed backhands and for someone who has been accused of
carrying too much weight, he moves beautifully.
`I feel I can be better again this year,' the former world No 3 and
2002 Wimbledon finalist, says. `I want to return to the top five, the
top three. I will be pushing hard. It is not going to be easy because
there are many good players coming through, but I am 100 per cent
ready for the challenge.
`I feel I can win a grand-slam [tournament], the Davis Cup for my
country and do well at the Olympics. It is tough to compare years,
but I definitely feel very good right now.'